Plant Bugs Hemiptera

Superfamily Pentatomoidea (Shieldbugs)

Represented by around 30 species and 4 families in mainland Britain, shieldbugs are flattish oval or shield-shaped bugs.Many are large, colourful and distinctive, All sightings are at Hinds in Bury unless otherwise stated.

Palomena prasina Green Shieldbug Family: Pentatomidae - There is one generation per year; the nymphs feed on many deciduous trees and shrubs, particularly hazel, and can be found from June to October. May be found in many habitats, including parks and

Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale Hawthorn Shieldbug Family: Acanthosomatidae - Overwinters as an adult, emerging and mating in the spring. The larvae occur May-October, feeding mainly on hawthorn berries and a range of other trees are also used. The new generation is complete from August/September or even later. Common and widespread in mixed woodlands.

Pentatoma rufipes Forest Bug Family: Pentatomidae - New adults may be found from July onwards, surviving until the late autumn.. Adults can sometimes be found in the early spring, suggesting that a secondary breeding cycle may be possible. Widespread and common across Britain in wooded areas, orchards and gardens

Zicrona caerulea Blue Bug Family: Pentatomidae- A predatory species, favouring the larvae of leaf beetles. There is usually one generation per year and new adults are mainly found from July onwards.It occurs on low vegetation in many habitats, including heathland, damp grassland and woodland rides. It is widespread throughout Britain and seen on canal and Reservoir elton.

Picromerus bidens Needle Shieldbug Family: Pentatomidae. A large and distinctive predatory shieldbug, which has unmistakeable thorn-like projections. They are predatory, feeding on the larvae of other insects, particularly caterpillars, but will also suck sap from plants. Widespread. Found in a variety of habiats; particularly heathland but also in damp flower-rich meadows .

Family Miridae (Plant bugs) Plant bugs, comprise a third of all UK species of Hemiptera . They are mostly rather delicate insects which feed on plants, although a number are wholly or partly predatory.All sightings are at Hinds in Bury unless otherwise stated.

Anthocoris nemoralis Family: Anthocoridae tentative - The flower bugs are a very difficul group, and this species is amongst the hardest to identify. e. The forewings are relatively darkly marked compared with A. nemorum and the markings on the membrane also differ The species is found on many different deciduous trees, and is common and very widespread, but much less common than A. nemorum on low vegetation. This was found on willow. Common.

Anthocoris nemorum Family: Anthocoridae - The forewings are entirely reflective (right), and the pronotum entirely black. The legs are mostly orange-brown, with variable development of small dark patches near the tip of the femora.. The dark patch on the membrane is typically hourglass-shaped. The species is predatory, and found on almost any plants, but preferring lower vegetation to trees. Abundant found on nettle.

Closterotomus norwegicus Potato Capsid Family: Miridae - This common bug can be found in meadows and hedgerows across Britain, where it feeds on a wide range of plants, especially nettles, composites and clovers. It is one of several similar green species, although mature males are tinged red-brown and specimens from northern Britain may have brownish-black markings. The tibial spines are shorter than the width of the tibia, and the length of the 2nd antennal segment is roughly equal to the 3rd and 4th combined.

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Deraeocoris flavilinea Family: Miridae - A rapid coloniser of the UK following its arrival in 1996. The host-plants are sycamore and field maple, although it may be encountered on other trees and shrubs. It is a large and fairly distinctive bug, but sexually dimorphic and thus rather variable. Adult June July

Deraeocoris ruber Family: Miridae - More common in southern Britain. This bug feeds on small insects and can be found on a range of plants, especially nettles. The colour ranges from red-orange to almost fully black, although the cuneus is always red to some extent. The tibiae are unbanded and the 1st antennal segment and at least the base of the 2nd are black.

Europiella artemisiae Family: Miridae - Small pale greyish-brown bugs which are covered in pale hairs. The base of the cuneus is pale and the tibial spines are set in black spots. There are two very similiar species which cannot be reliably separated but E. decolor is associated with saltmarshes. Tentative,

Grypocoris stysi Family: Miridae - A conspicuous bug found widely throughout the UK, usually on nettles in woodland, and sometimes umbellifers and white bryony. The adults and larvae feed on both flower heads as well as small invertebrates such as aphids. The chequered pattern of light yellow-white areas and striking orange-yellow cuneus make confusion with other species unlikely.

Lygocoris pabulinus Common Green Capsid Family: Miridae - This can be distinguished from similar green bugs by the very fine and inconspicuous pale brown tibial spines.. The pronotum is rather straight-sided, smooth and the whole upper surface is usually uniformly green. Common bug throughout the UK, found on a range of woody and herbaceous plants, particularly nettles.

Harpocera thoracica Family: Miridae - A handsome bug which is very common throughout the UK on oak. The sexes are very different . Adults appear in the spring and are short-lived . Tentative.

Liocoris tripustulatus Family: Miridae - Common throughout the UK and associated mainly with nettles, the foodplant for all life stages, this is a variable but distinctive species. This bug may be found as an adult all year, and variation in colour is strongly related to age

Leptopterna dolabrata Family: Miridae - Leptopterna species are large and common grass bugs which often have reddish or orange-yellow forewings. A common and widespread bug throughout the UK, feeding on a variety of grasses; more common in damper habitats

Plagiognathus arbustorum Family: Miridae - This extremely common bug is found throughout the UK on a range of plants, particularly nettles. Although the ground colour varies from pale olive-green to almost black, the head and front of the pronotum are usually dark,

Scolopostethus cf. affinis Family: Lygaeidae- -Tentative; all have one large and several small spines on the underside of the front femur. The sides of the pronotum have a large and obvious pale spot just behind the middle. The critical features in S. affinis are the short wing membrane, about 3X wider than long, and the antennal pattern; the 1st and 2nd segments are pale, and the 3rd and 4th segments dark. Found in leaf litter

Capsus ater Family: Miridae - Widespread throughout the UK in grasslands, where it is associated with numerous species of Gramineae. Unlike most capsid bugs, it feeds low down on the stems. Found Ainworth

Troilus luridus Family: Pentatomidae - A large predatory shieldbug. The legs are brown and the scutellum lacks an orange The nymphs feeding on plants as well as the larvae of other insects, particularly caterpillars. A woodland species which is associated with both deciduous and coniferous trees and occurs widely across Britain and Ireland.Elasmostethus

interstinctus Birch Shieldbug Family: Acanthosomatidae - The larvae feed principally on birch, but may also be found on hazel and aspen; the new generation is complete by August. Common and widespread in mixed birch woodlands across Britain and Ireland. Can be confused wit larger Hawthorn bug. The lateral extensions of the pronotum are smaller and are not marked with red, the scutellum of A. haemorrhoidale is green, and the abdomen frequently red-tipped.

Piezodorus lituratus Gorse Shieldbug - Although often associated with gorse, larvae also feed on broom, dyer's greenwood and other plants in the Genisteae, and have also been found on laburnum and clovers. Common and widepsread throughout Britain and Ireland, in many habitats where gorse is present